![\"Visitors](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_8143-1.jpeg\")
Visitors gather around a rose-draped iron gazebo lit in pink during illumine 2025 at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. The downtown skyline glows in the distance. (Credit: Historic Oakland Foundation)<\/p>\n
For the second year, Cat Eye Creative gallery founder Adam Crawford co-curated illumine alongside members of the foundation\u2019s team. The partnership grew out of a personal connection. Oakland volunteers and board members who were fans of Cat Eye Creative\u2019s work made the introduction.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though Oakland is a beloved Atlanta institution, arts are not our main focus,\u201d said Sandy White, Historic Oakland Foundation\u2019s senior director of programs and volunteers. \u201cTo be able to collaborate with a gallery allows us to connect with and consider a more diverse list of artists.\u201d<\/p>\n
illumine has cycled through several curatorial voices over its nearly two decades. The Atlanta art agency Dashboard shaped earlier editions. Cooper Sanchez<\/a>, who served as creative director and remains an Oakland gardener, was another collaborator. Through each iteration, White said, Oakland\u2019s program staff worked closely with artists to keep the event aligned with the cemetery\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to use illumine to creatively showcase the story of Oakland and, therefore, the story of Atlanta,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s exhibition gives that intention a theme: \u201cFoundations.\u201d<\/p>\n The artists\u2019 paths<\/p>\n illumine\u2019s 2026 contributor roster includes landscape artist Vanna Black, visual artists Marcia R Cohen and Jordan Graves, muralists Fabian Williams and Christina Kwan, graffiti artist VAYNE, artist Daniel Phelps, light artist Eddie Farr, The Neon Company and photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s background and story is unique,\u201d Crawford said. \u201cWe like to have the exhibition present multiple mediums, some viewable during daylight and others requiring darkness. Some are interactive and immersive, while others are more conceptual.\u201d<\/p>\n Read More: Featured interpretations of \u201cFoundations\u201d range from literal to philosophical. All are weather-proof. All are visible at night. All are designed durable enough to withstand two weekends of public handling. The pieces line paths through the grounds\u2019 Original Six Acres and Jewish Flats, with stops near the graves of former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell, musician Kenny Rogers and golf legend Bobby Jones.<\/p>\n \u201cSome artists incorporate their work onto mausoleums or site-specific locations, while others give a nod to those around their piece, like Eddie Farr\u2019s piece [next to] Kenny Rogers and Marcia Cohen\u2019s piece in the Jewish Flats Burial Ground,\u201d Crawford said.<\/p>\n Each contributor walked the year\u2019s route alongside White, learning the cemetery\u2019s history and the stories of its residents, then worked with White and Crawford to think through the challenges of creating within a site so venerated that it\u2019s listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a dance between the curation, artists and foundation,\u201d Crawford said, \u201cto make the best artwork and experience for all parties.\u201d<\/p>\n New partners, new scale<\/p>\n
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\u2022\u00a0Cat Eye Creative lands in Decatur<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Vintage](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_7513-1.jpeg\")
A vintage Mercedes sits before the purple-lit Richards mausoleum during illumine 2025 at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. (Credit: Historic Oakland Foundation)<\/p>\n